Liverpool Targeting Bradley Barcola as Summer Signing

Liverpool are closing in on their marquee attacking signing of the summer – and the numbers are finally starting to make sense.

Bradley Barcola remains the club’s clear priority on the wing, and the transfer saga with PSG has taken a significant turn, with the French champions softening their stance on the fee and Fabrizio Romano now predicting a “very strong” push from Anfield in the coming days.

Liverpool smell opportunity as PSG drop Barcola price

Liverpool want two wingers before the window shuts. Barcola is the headline act. Behind him, Brighton’s Yankuba Minteh currently leads the race over Ibrahim Mbaye for the second wide addition.

On Barcola, Liverpool have already done some of the heavy lifting. Personal terms with the France international are understood to be in place, and senior figures at Anfield are in daily contact with PSG over the fee and structure of the deal.

PSG, for their part, are open to selling. Barcola, along with fellow Liverpool-linked winger Mbaye, was left out of the squad for the Ligue 1 opener against Rennes at the weekend, underlining his uncertain status in Paris.

The sticking point has always been the price. PSG initially tried to set the bar at a staggering €170m (£145m). Liverpool were never entertaining that figure.

The landscape shifted once PSG moved aggressively in the market, bringing in Ferran Torres, Mika Godts and Maghnes Akliouche. With three new forwards through the door, the Barcola valuation began to slide. Reports suggested it had dropped to around €146m (£125m), and on Tuesday morning insider Graeme Bailey was told the demand has now fallen again to €140m (£119m).

At Anfield, that change matters. Liverpool’s hierarchy have been wary of making Barcola the most expensive signing in British football history and loading that burden onto a 23-year-old. That record currently belongs to Alexander Isak at £125m – and would stay that way if Liverpool strike at PSG’s latest price.

Romano: ‘Deal is alive’ as Liverpool prepare decisive push

Fabrizio Romano has been consistent on one point: the €170m talk was always unrealistic.

“On Bradley Barcola, guys, I told you since the beginning, it is not going to be €170m,” he said on his YouTube channel. “With all respect for PSG, the feeling of those in the industry has always been that it is never going to be €170m, but it will still be a big amount of money.”

The way this negotiation is being handled explains the lack of the usual drip-feed of bid updates.

“This is why Liverpool and PSG are having a direct exchange day by day. So, the conversation is continuing behind the scenes,” Romano continued. He stressed that this is not a standard auction with public offers being lodged and rejected, but a straight line of communication “between directors, between owners”.

That, he says, is why the story has felt different – quieter on the surface, far more intense in the background.

Crucially, Romano is clear on one thing: “The deal is alive. Barcola is absolutely, absolutely a deal that Liverpool want to complete in the next few days, and my expectation is absolutely for Liverpool to go very strong for Barcola.”

Liverpool still have to find the magic number to trigger Romano’s trademark “Here We Go”, but the direction of travel is obvious. The club intend to accelerate.

And once Barcola is through the door, Liverpool’s work out wide may not be done. The plan, Romano adds, is to sign another winger if Cody Gakpo leaves for Tottenham or Man City.

The next few days will decide whether Liverpool’s front line enters the season merely refreshed – or completely reshaped.